Control Freaks Fail Online

Online brand communities that put consumers in relation with companies and among companies are powerful marketing tools, if correctly managed. However, many brand communities fail in their intent, because in their segmentation-targeting-positioning process they define an ex ante excessively restrictive target. Also, they emphasize discussions strictly correlated with existing products. In fact, the level of control over these communities by companies is often very high, with moderators that prevent consumers from posting comments if they do not meet rules that are just too stringent. The net result is that consumers participate (if they do at all) in these online communities for purely selfish purposes, i.e. if they have a problem from a product or stand to gain from a product promotion. Often in this context there is no bonding or formation of relations with customers and among them, so the collaborative environment that characterizes productive communities is no longer there. Conversely, consumer-managed communities are more effective, since there are no conflicts of interest (a company could hide product defects or the details of a product launch, for instance) they empower participants to express themselves more freely about a company's goods as well as the competitors'. They also employ less technical language, which makes them more attractive to unspecialized users. Higher freedom of expression, higher user potential, incentives to users by managers to engage in a wider spectrum of activities are all conditions that facilitate community formation. In other words, consumers are more likely to participate in these communities, because they are passionate about the brands, for emotional reasons, as well as for socializing. A veritable online community is a boon for marketing purposes, at a very low cost. You can easily test product innovation, supply high-quality post-sale services, educate consumers and increase their brand loyalty. If companies want to benefit from such advantages, they will have to learn that the best online communities are those directly run by consumers. Otherwise they stand to lose out in a big way.